The procedure described in the above-identified concurrently filed United States patent application, is directed to a sinus membrane patching procedure that may be employed if a sinus membrane perforation should occur during a dental procedure or is discovered as having been previously formed during an independent dental procedure or as a result of a physical accident suffered by the patient.
In the membrane patching procedure described in the concurrently filed United Sates patent application, an opening is created in the sinus floor of a patient to expose the portion of the sinus membrane including the perforation. Then, a quantity of a sinus membrane patching material is inserted through the opening to a location adjacent the sinus perforation. Finally, the sinus membrane patching material is laterally expanded and forced against the sinus membrane to seal the perforation.
The present invention is directed to an improved version of an instrument for inserting, laterally expanding and forcing sinus patching material against a sinus membrane to seal a perforation in the sinus membrane.